There's one simple thing that I feel was missed. I am always handing off my camera for a potrait, and when I finally see the picture, my head is in the absolute middle of the frame. Above is a huge, boring gap, and I am cut off at the torso. Beginners don't realize that in daily life, their eyes are naturally drawn to faces, and this carries over into putting faces in the center of their photographic compositions. This, to me, is the #1 no-no of portrait photography. Use the Rule of Thirds or something interesting instead.Reply

Hey AnandTech photo writers: how about fewer articles wasting our time like this one and more tech-related photography articles (tech articles at Anandtech, go figure), like reviewing photo video players like the Epson P-2000?
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Honestly, I don't come to Anandtech as much as I used to because of articles like this. Don't get me wrong, great work but that's not why I come to Anandtech for. If I want digital photo and cameras articles or Mac realated stuff I go somewhere else. Then you have the useless reviews of butt agly cases. I think you guys are losing focus. It's just my 2 cents.

Just because I see some people sill dont' get it, DOF is indeed affected by all three variables mentioned above. Just a minor correction. The size of the senzor (film format) itself does not affect DOF, it's the relative focal length that's to blame. e.g. a 4x zoom digital camera specs migth say 35 - 140 mm, but it's actually a 7,2 - 28,8 mm in 35mm film (leica) format terms - conversion factor depends on the difference between CCD sensor size and classic 24x36 mm film size. That explains the huge DOF in digital cameras.

#17 try shooting with 400mm lens at f16, and 14mm lens at f2, come back here and say that again ;) better yeh, take a fisheye and see if you can throw anything out of focus.

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also, the size of sensor affects depth of field. that's why with medium format/4x5/8x10 camera, it's very easy to blur things out. and for the longest time, it's impossible to throw things out of focus with digital camera.

and last... OH NO!! the secret's out, dont use on camera flash and you're picture won't look HORRIBLE!! i'll be outta job soon... ppl won't need photographers anymore... but seriously... unless you know what you're doing, on camera flash just mess everything up. they are great for filling in shadows in daylight and some other things... but not great as the only source of light. i shoot in blackness and concerts without them. and top of the line SLRs don't have them. Reply

#17: try using a camera more advanced that a point-and-shoot and you will see. Yes, focal length *does* affect DoF. A longer focal length reduces DoF if the aperture and camera-to-subject distance do not change.

I especially liked the tip about post processing your shots in Photoshop. Since I’m an amateur I don’t really know how my pictures will turn out. So more tips on how “bad” photos can be made better would be most welcome. What’s the best way to get rid of redeye for example? I mean of course you should by an SLR and use a good flash. But if that’s not an option with your compact camera what can be done about it afterwards? Reply

#10, you are wrong, depth of field is controlled by three variables: (1) aperture; (2) focal length; and (3) distance between the camera and subject. Fixing any two of those and varying the third will change the DoF. Note that changing 2 and 3 also change the perspective.

Speaking of perspective, one thing the author did not mention is that the ideal focal length for portraits is 85mm. Anything shorter results in bulbous faces (e.g. bigger noses and cheeks). FYI The absolute greatest portrait lens has to be the Canon 135mm f2 L (long focal length, wide max aperture, great glass).
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The other, and I think more important reason to use your longest focal length on a zoom, or use a short telephoto, is perspective for facial features. If you take a headshot with a "normal" focal length lens, 45 to 50mm for a 35mm camera, noses become unnaturally big (front) or cheeks appear fat (side). A short telephoto puts the viewer at a distance we're used to in real life, a distance where the perpective is natural.Reply

Another tip for people to consider with digital cameras. When doing indoor photography and you want to avoid the harshness from the built-in camera flash, you can reduce the ISO setting and use the flash. It should reduce the harshness of the flash.

i.e. instead of flash indoors at iso400, use flash indoors at iso100 or lower. play around and you will see what i mean. Reply

I would mention using a cable-release for slow shutter speed picture even if you have a tripod so as to prevent from camera shake when releasing the shutter. If a cable-release isn't available, then hold your breath and slowly depress the shutter release button to reduce the camera shake even further. It helps out with newbie photogs. I see you probably didn't need one though.Reply

More good tips... now we wait for the photography nuts to come say how elementary the article is and tell us all that nobody can tell you how to take good photos, you have to have an eye for it, etc. etc. etc. blah blah blah :)Reply

Some great tips. I know most of these but I forget to look at lighting when I shoot them. The pictures come out fine but later I kick myself for not paying attention to the lighting. My biggest problem is not paying attention. Reviewing the pictures on the tiny LCD does not tell me anything. My Canon camera a lot of times really picks terrible white balance in incandecent light but I can never tell till after I upload.Reply

Once again great article. I enjoyed your first article in this series. After reading the first article, I had taken my camera out of storage and started taking pictures again. Thank you for the renewed interest in photography. I'll be looking forward to your next article. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to take excellent night photos. Will you be combining all the articles into one PDF file.Reply